Sameko Saba, Gawr Gura’s independent return, is about to debut

Fans have eagerly been waiting for vtuber and content creator Gawr Gura to return after graduating from Hololive, and her new independent form of Sameko Saba has finally announced that she’ll soon be making her much-awaited debut.

One of the most popular vtubers in the scene, Gawr Gura, broke the hearts of her many fans when she announced her graduation from Hololive in 2025. Followers were disappointed, but not surprised. Some time after Gawr Gura left Hololive, the same fans found an upcoming independent vtuber who reminded them of their beloved shark girl.

Sameko Saba’s voice was distinctly similar Gawr Gura’s, and fans speculated that the Hololive icon was going independent. Many vtubers return as independent talents after graduating, but rarely make an official confirmation of the move. Sameko Saba has now announced when she’ll debut, and her fans are overjoyed at the prospect of the return of Gawr Gura in independent form.

When will Sameko Saba debut?

Sameko Saba tweeted a video announcement letting fans know that the newly-independent Gawr Gura is set to return on June 28.

The announcement video didn’t give away many details and left some things up to the viewer’s imagination. Fans had assumed Gawr Gura’s new identity would have blue hair following the shark girl’s theme, but this was proven incorrect by a previous teaser. The new teaser revealed more of Sameko Saba’s golden hair and also showed a view of her surprisingly furry ears.

The rest of Sameko Saba’s model isn’t yet shown, and the video cuts to a fish-like silhouette of the vtuber. Many fans have already started to make prediction art as they await the debut of Sameko Saba. Some speculate that the vtuber may be a hybrid of a fish and another animal, like a cat. This is due to the furry ears that were displayed in the teaser.

The teaser video ended with the date June 28, when the vtuber will officially debut.

Many around the vtuber space are predicting that Sameko Saba’s debut will be one of the largest in the history of vtubers. This wouldn’t be surprising as Gawr Gura had a massive fan following, and her new persona already has close to 500,000 followers on YouTube even before this upcoming debut event. Sameko Saba’s X posts are also receiving significant love from fans and other streamers alike.

The independent vtuber likely won’t directly confirm her past identity as the Hololive star, but she may give subtle hints to please her fans. This is common, as seen when ex-Hololive talent Amelia Watson all but confirmed her identity when she debuted as Dooby.

Many fans appreciated that Sameko Saba is building up to the debut rather than launching into renewed streaming and content creation right away.